Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is and I reiterate that my primary concern is for the athletes. These are the people who basically put their lives on hold, in most cases from the time they are very young, to pursue their dream. To have this level of uncertainty, this relatively close to the Olympics, is just not good enough. It is something that all of the international boxing associations will have to come together on and to work with the IOC to get resolved because at the centre of this are Irish athletes and athletes from other countries who have worked really hard to get to where they are and are now wondering whether they will actually be in Tokyo or not.

On the IABA and Sport Ireland, I am confident that they are doing everything they can possibly do and I am quite happy with the level of interaction that we have had on this to date in terms of trying to get it resolved but I am happy to keep the Deputy informed of developments because it is critically important to the entire sporting nation, given our recent successes. I look at Kellie Harrington's recent success in particular. Kellie and many others have really great prospects for Tokyo 2020 and we want to ensure they have the best possible preparation in advance of that.

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